This
is a story of Manhattan Project, that is, the making of Atom Bomb in Los Alamos Virginia
The
plot is a mystery story, to find the person (scientist) who also supplied the
formula of the bomb to Russia ,
while working in the team in America
The
story tells us the point of view of the scientist why he took the decision.
It
is to keep the readers guessing that I am not mentioning his name here :D
At
first about the writing. The very thing
which attracts our attention while starting the novel, is the explanations of
all the tough chemical formula/ theory
in Bengali. Narayan Sanyal has done such a wonderful job here! Lucid language makes
it easy for even a lay man to understand the difficult scientific procedures. How the
energy inside the atom is released is narrated with step by step inventions by
the scientists as well as with illustrations by the writer himself.
I personally enjoyed this part of the book very much. Before starting the main
storyline, Narayan Sanyal introduces us to the process of how actually the
bomb is made.
Then
in the story, we meet so many famous personalities! Famous in history or scientific
world, like- J Oppenheimer, R Feynman, Max Planck, L Szilard, Niels Bohr, Hans Bethe and many more.
Many
life stories by eminent writers or the autobiographies of the scientists
themselves were the source of this novel, according to the Index at the back of the novel. Thus we can find so many amusing incidents
about all of them in the story. Really enjoyable and astonishing! They tell us
about those persons, their habit, their genius, way of working, their faith- we
get amazed while reading them! We feel as if we are present when all these we were
happening :).
The
story unfolds itself in a very interesting manner. At first the probe begins
about the probable traitor. Then the writer takes us back to the early days how
the plan to make a nuclear bomb was first conceived. Then contacting the famous
scientists and the various stages of research work. Then actual making of the
bomb and all the discussions on the part of the Government and the scientists.
We get a glimpse of the different characteristics of all those persons involved
in the work from 1942- 1946. So many aspects are there in the whole story that it is impossible
to write about all of them. You need to read the book to realise the full
implication of the nuclear bomb. How some of the scientists were concerned about the well being of the world, how the endeavours
of Einstein went in vain, how the wrong assumption about the research work going
on in Germany led the scientists of America work harder, how the World War
forced so many people along with the scientists to leave their motherland in Europe and
take refuge in America and work for them (America). Life presents such difficult situations
in front of us!
One
interesting thing also is the way the scientists of Germany
I
enjoyed the story because of its unique storyline, detailed information and the
way the case is dealt with.
At
the end there is a Timeline also, so that the reader we can look at the happenings
with reference to history. Another list of the spellings of the original names of
the personalities mentioned in this book
along with the Bengali spelling which Narayal Sanyal used in the novel is also there. Some
more Notes are also there at the end of the book which are very helpful for the
readers.
Really
a wonderful work by the multifaceted Narayan Sanyal!
(Here
I have uploaded the cover photo of the 2014 edition of the book by Dey's Publishing.
Cover
photo used only for the purpose of appreciation, no personal profit intended.)
